April 2010

03/29/2010 09:30

FROM THE PASTOR

Its Spring, really according to the calendar, Spring has sprung. How can you tell? Baseball’s Spring Training, Golf courses are opening, flowers are starting to bloom, you know the Crocuses, Tulips, some of the more aggressive are starting to get the garden ready for planting. I came across this from an unknown author:

Plant five rows of peas: preparedness, promptness, perseverance, politeness, prayer. Next, plant three rows of squash, squash gossip, squash criticism, squash indifference. Then plant five rows of lettuce: Let us be faithful, let us be loyal, let us be unselfish, let us love one another, let us be truthful. No garden is complete without turnips: Turn up for church, turn up with a smile, turn up with a new idea, turn up with real determination.

Sounds like a good garden. Another sign that it is Spring is that “Love is in the air” as the old line of a song goes. But, love has been around for a long, long time. Remember the commandment that Jesus gave us; “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). The word love is used often in the Bible, more often in the New Testament. One of the commentaries say this and I am putting into my words. Love when used as a noun it is an abstract word because it tends to transcend the senses. When used as a verb it often has the idea of a relationship either to someone or something. Love of course is the opposite of hate. They are both attitudes of life. Proverbs 10:12 says: “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs”. Jesus gave the commandment to love one another because it was the principal that He lived and died for. The love of Christ is a pure love and it was free. There are so many verses in the New Testament that tend to remind us of our responsibility to love one another. Take a minute to look these up:

WOMEN'S NEWS

Carol Weinert

It was chilly, but the sun shone brightly on the morning of our Reflection Breakfast and more than 30 guests attended the event. Janet Helmbold did an excellent job as mistress of ceremonies as did everyone else who participated in the program. I received several compliments from the ladies of other churches who attended. Thanks to all who helped make this another successful Reflection Breakfast.

Several of our UMW women have registered to attend the annual District Spiritual Growth Retreat. This will be held April 16-17 at the Comfort Inn in Manistique. We are very fortunate to have this event held again in our town as it is so convenient for us. Women from all over the UP will travel to attend and we have it right in our own back yard. Those of us who have attended in the past know what an inspiring program is sure to be presented and it is always an added blessing to fellowship with others in our district.

The retreat may be the "last" big event of the UMW for a while but our regular activities continue. We visit Medicare monthly to present a short program to the residents. Our next visit will be Monday, April 5, at 10 a.m. All are welcome to join us as we lead the residents in singing and present a brief meditation. Check with Phyllis Burge for more details.

The next Naomi Circle meeting will be Wednesday, April 7, at 1:30 PM at the church. Louise Burson is circle chairperson. The Ruth Circle meets monthly in various members’ homes for fellowship and a "study." Sharon Feichtenbiner is the chairperson of this group. Both circles are always open to new members. Contact the above mentioned chairpersons for more information.

We have just received several new books from the UMW Reading Program and Mary Prater has already placed them on the shelves in our section of the library. You are encouraged to check them out and enjoy them. You don’t have to be a UMW member to take advantage of these books. We only ask that you sign them out and return them promptly when you are finished. We do hope, however, that you will consider joining us in pursuing the Reading Program goals. The books are on a variety of subjects and are very informative. Mary tells us that some of the new books are youth-orientated and we hope our young people will read them too, but these books offer good reading to all of us.

We soon will be making plans for our August potluck luncheon. The program is usually centered on Missions. If you have any ideas or suggestions for a theme and/or speaker, please let us know as soon as possible so we can make the necessary arrangements.

Don’t forget about the District In-gathering project for 2010. Individually, it involves giving to a need of your choice, such as Good Neighbors Food Pantry, St. Vinnie’s, etc. Keep track of your giving and turn your report in at our September meeting to be sent to the District for credit to our Unit. We may also have a one-time In-gathering project to participate in as a unit before the District Meeting in October. Watch for details.

LAY LEADER LINES

Q: I understand that our minister frequently goes to Ohio to take classes. Why? Do all ministers do this? I don’t recall any of our previous ministers doing it.

A: Our current minister is a local pastor. This means that he has not completed seminary and is not an elder. One of the requirements for a local pastor is to complete the Course of Study requirements which will enable him/her to become certified as a local pastor. Our current pastor is in the process of completing these educational requirements. Previous ministers in Manistique were ordained elders who had completed seminary and thus fulfilled all their educational requirements.

Q: But why all the way to Ohio? Why not go somewhere closer?

A: Unfortunately, the necessary classes are not available in Michigan. Ohio and Illinois are the closest sites where they may be obtained.

Q: Well, how about on-line classes, or correspondence courses?

A: Until very recently, the required classes were not offered online, and even now, not all of the required classes are available there. Our minister had already completed the ones offered online before they were available in that manner. A limited number of classes can be taken by correspondence, but doing so is not really encouraged, since a valuable part of the course work consists of the discussions and interactions in the classroom, and this component is not available through correspondence classes.

Q: Will our present minister have to take classes forever?

A: He certainly hopes not! Actually, he is currently taking one class, and has one more to go after this. He will be finished with all the required courses in August.

SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS

-NORMA JOHNSON

MISSIONS COORDINATOR

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz, Rodale Books, 2009.

Young Jacqueline loved the blue sweater decorated with zebras that her uncle gave her and wore it well past the point where it became uncomfortably tight. She certainly never expected to see it again when she finally chucked it into a donation box at a Virginia Goodwill. So when she spotted a blue sweater decorated with zebras 10 years later, hanging from the slender shoulders of a young boy in Rwanda, Jacqueline Novogratz was amazed to find her name still written on the tag. The sweater became a symbol to her of the interconnectedness of all people, and it encouraged Novogratz during her early days in Africa, when setbacks threatened her resolve to help the world’s poor.

The blue sweater’s original owner went on to be a trailblazer in the use of market-based approaches instead of handouts to aid the needy. Today, Novogratz is a 25-year veteran of development work, and founder and CEO of the Acumen Fund, and international nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty. In the this book, she recounts her personal journey from wide-eyed college grad hoping to save the world to battle-hardened veteran who knows that good intentions alone rarely get the job done. The book is both a memoir and a how-to-manual on harnessing capitalism to end poverty.

Novogratz is well-known for her success in offering venture capital to create health care, clean water, education, housing and other services to aid the poor. But it’s the stories of failure early in her career and how she handled them that make for the most captivating reading. Those failures came quickly after she left a cushy Wall Street job with Chase Manhattan Bank to work for a women’s microfinance organization in Africa. She arrived to a frigid reception, despite her efforts to win everyone over. As she says in the prologue of the book, “I went to Africa to try and save the continent, only to learn that Africans neither wanted nor needed saving.”

Novogratz weathered sexual harassment and ultimately a poisoning at the hands of her female co-workers before fleeing to Germany to regroup. She recovered physically from the poisoning and returned to work in Africa despite the urgings of her worried parents. But this time, she vowed to work only with women’s groups who invited her to help them.

What’s extraordinary about these devastating setbacks is that rather than sending her back to the United States and a lucrative banking career, they strengthened Novogratz’s dedication to development work But instead of barreling blindly forward, Novogratz took the time to deconstruct each of these failures and extrapolate the reasons for them before moving on to the next challenge. It was this ability to put aside ineffective efforts and suss out strategies that worked that made Novogratz such a powerhouse in her work throughout Africa and in India and Pakistan.

CAMP NEWS

Games and Snacks Evening was enjoyed by eight adults and ten children. A total of $50 was raised for Camp Michigamme and Vacation Bible School. The children provided a variety of tasty snacks.

*Camp Michigamme director James Daly spoke during Sunday service on March 14, 2010. His topic was “What they take home from camp won’t fit in their backpack”. A video was shown during fellowship time, starring some of our children. Those children attending the service, wore camp clothes and provided the coffee hour goodies. Our church sent 14 children to Camp Michigamme last year and are fundraising for this year’s camp. Donations may be earmarked for the “Camp Michigamme Scholarship Fund” if you would like to help.